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I don't think you can gain anything from that really that isn't already known. As many people have said, of course Kahn is gonna say he is not trading Rubio, to get the best possible offers on the table as possible.

It seems like a total waste to let the kid go back to Spain for 2 years, just so he can come back to NBA and get traded then. Then again you can't really put it past a GM of a struggling team to not deny resources for other teams to improve.

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- The New York Knicks are curious whether Ricky Rubio will wind up in Minnesota or Spain next season, curious enough that team president Donnie Walsh was planning to contact Minnesota by the end of the day Friday to begin seeking answers.

Like everyone else around the NBA, the Knicks were taken by surprise Thursday night when the Timberwolves used the fifth and sixth picks of the NBA draft to select a pair of point guards, Rubio and Syracuse's Jonny Flynn.

The suspense deepened after Rubio's father told a Spanish media outlet that Rubio would prefer to return to Spain for at least one season, maybe two, and the Timberwolves found themselves Friday in the uncomfortable position of planning their introductory post-draft news conference without the player they sacrificed Mike Miller and Randy Foye to select.

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"There is such a thing as drafting assets. I don't know if that is what he's doing," Walsh said of new Timberwolves general manager David Kahn, who worked under Walsh for several years with the Indiana Pacers as Walsh's assistant GM.

Looking back on the events of the past few days, Walsh said Kahn had indicated to him -- an indication that Walsh initially dismissed -- that he might take two guards with the two picks. So Walsh said it was the biggest surprise of the night, in his opinion, when Minnesota took Flynn with the sixth pick -- giving the Knicks the assurance that they would get one of the two players remaining on the board that they coveted -- Jordan Hill or Stephen Curry.

"It was just a general conversation," Walsh said. "We didn't talk about players, but he said, 'I would take two little guys.' And I thought it was just a comment meaning, 'I'm not going to do this in a prototypical type of way, because I need players.' "

Hill was the player the Knicks took with the No. 8 pick, and New York also selected Florida State guard Toney Douglas with the No. 29 pick they purchased for $3 million from the Los Angeles Lakers.

The best Hill moment from Friday was when he mentioned how he remembered when the Knicks had Patrick Ewing and Charles Oakley and were good. Asked how old he was when he formed those memories, Hill answered "5 or 6."

The best Douglas moment was when he showed off his No. 23 jersey and it was pointed out to him that there might be a free agent out there 12 months from now who would probably want that number for himself.

Walsh insisted that his draft selections would have no bearing on the uncertain futures of restricted free agents David Lee and Nate Robinson, though it was hard to ignore the fact that Hill and Douglas could fill the roles Lee and Robinson occupied the past three seasons (and, in a perfect world, newly acquired Darko Milicic could spend a season grabbing some of the rebounds Lee specialized in corralling).

The Knicks value Lee more than they do Robinson, but if Lee and/or Robinson are going to take up a large portion of the cap space the Knicks want to have available next summer to make a run at LeBron James/Dwyane Wade/Chris Bosh, both could be expendable.

"I'm always looking at 2010, because I do want to be in the free-agent market in a big way, so I would say it's going to be my job to make sure that happens -- that we don't disrupt that in a major way," Walsh said.

Toward that end, Walsh will continue during the summer to try to find takers for Eddy Curry and Jared Jeffries, two of the four players (Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari are the others, to be joined shortly by Hill and Douglas) under contract through the 2010-11 season.

In hindsight, the Knicks had some huge regrets Friday. Two weeks ago, they were convinced Rubio would be off the board at No. 5, leading them to turn down a deal that would have sent Larry Hughes and Chandler to Washington for Etan Thomas, Mike James, Oleksiy Pecherov and the No. 5 pick (New York would not have surrendered the eighth pick in that trade), and Washington ended up getting Miller and Foye for the pick.

Now, depending on how things shake out between Rubio and the Timberwolves, the NBA rights to the 18-year-old could come onto the market this summer, next season or even in the summer of 2010 or 2011 if he opts to return to DKV Joventut rather than relocate to Minneapolis -- Rubio's astronomical $6 million buyout drops to zero in the summer of 2011).

One of the biggest certainties of the day Friday was that Kahn would be receiving a number of exploratory phone calls inquiring about his plans should Rubio balk at reporting.

And if that is the case, the rights to Rubio could be an asset that increases in value in the weeks and months ahead.

"I haven't spoken to Minnesota, I will," Walsh said. "I don't know what's going on there. He took a lot of point guards, and I want to ask him, 'Why did you do that?' "

Kahn traded two of the four point guards he drafted, sending Ty Lawson to Denver for a future first-round pick and dealing Nick Calathes to Dallas. Kahn also insisted in an ESPN interview Thursday night that he was committed to keeping both Rubio and Flynn and playing them together, but a huge factor in that equation is how easy or difficult it is going to be for the Wolves to play ball with Rubio and his agent, Dan Fegan, who has a history of trying to steer his international clients away from small-market teams.

A rival agent of Fegan's predicted that Minnesota owner Glen Taylor would take a stubborn stance if Rubio tried to force the Wolves' hand.

"He's very thoughtful," Walsh said of Kahn, "and I think you'd be wrong to judge him based on this because he probably has Step 1, Step 2, Step 3, Step 4 [already planned]. And he's going into a situation that needs some change, and he's looking at trying to change it, and he'll do it in various ways -- and the draft is the first step in this process."

Open letter from Minnesota Timberwolves' David Kahn: Two point guards 'can and will work'

<!--subtitle--><!--byline-->Pioneer Press

<!--date-->Updated: 06/26/2009 02:20:06 PM CDT

EDITOR'S NOTE: Minnesota Timberwolves president of basketball operations David Kahn has written an open letter to Wolves fans, explaining their draft-day decisions of Thursday night.

Dear Timberwolves Fans and Supporters:

It's been five weeks since I arrived in Minneapolis and I hope you can feel what I feel: change.

I especially want to talk about last night's draft and explain why we made the decisions we did.

First, from a philosophical standpoint, I believe that teams should select players in the top 10 of the NBA Draft who have the chance — and I underline the word chance — to be special later in their careers. You do not use the fifth and sixth picks to select rotation players, but only players that figure to be starters, if not out-and-out stars.

So, we were committed to taking two players who fit that description, and we were less concerned about the positions they played, assuming they were not power forwards.

There were several two-person options we would have been comfortable with at those selections.

It wasn't until late Thursday afternoon that I thought there was a chance Ricky Rubio might be available for us at No. 5. I had actually been told by somebody who I deeply respect in the NBA that Ricky would be selected third by Oklahoma City. But we were prepared for all options nonetheless.
Ricky has one of the most tenacious, most capable agents in our sport, Dan Fegan. He cares deeply about his clients. I explained to Dan late afternoon that we were singularly motivated to build an NBA championship-contending team in Minnesota — that it might take a few years, of course — but that nobody here cared about anything other than competing for an NBA title.
That we have only one life to live, and that we must spend our lives trying, as Pat Riley once taught me, to leave footprints.

I purposely selected Ricky with the fifth pick, not the sixth, to help with his buyout situation. Ricky and his family have taken a very bold step to enter the NBA despite having two years remaining on his contract with his Spanish team. I know that they would have preferred that we try to move to the second or third pick to take him, and I respect their wishes, but my belief was that we need during these next 15 months to acquire multiple pieces to make this a championship-contending team over the next three-to-four years. The price for moving to No. 2 or 3 was far too steep.

Ricky is a proven professional who played against the USA in the Gold Medal game in the Beijing Olympics. He is a virtuoso, a rare player who may well be unique. I have long believed that he has the chance to become one of basketball's brightest stars. You've seen the highlights — he is like an orchestra conductor with the basketball.

He will be our starting point guard here the moment he walks through our front door. We may have to wait a year, or even two, but he is worth the wait.

We must be patient. This is a big step for he and his family.

With the sixth pick, we selected Jonny Flynn. I truly believe that Jonny is as much a scorer as a playmaker and will thrive playing off of Ricky. I also believe that, together, we will have one of the most dynamic defensive backcourts in the NBA over time. You will love Jonny Flynn. He, too, will be special.

And I also believe that there is a tendency in the NBA for all of us (myself included) to become too formulaic in our thinking. If you think of the Detroit Pistons backcourt during their championship run, with Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars and Vinnie Johnson, or the Celtics with their backcourt of Danny Ainge and Dennis Johnson (and before Ainge there was Gerald Henderson), or the Lakers with Jerry West and Gail Goodrich, or the Knicks with Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe, there are many instances of championship success that is not so paint-by-the-numbers.

It can and will work.

At the 18th pick, we did not believe we could identify a player who would be worthy of that rookie scale slot and become part of our core nucleus, so in an attempt to further stockpile assets, we traded it for a future first-round pick with only modest lottery protection. This will prove to be valuable. We also traded one of our two second-round picks for a 2010 second-round pick.

Finally, we selected Wayne Ellington with the 28th pick, one of the stars off the North Carolina National Championship team. Wayne is a 6-foot-5 shooter who has improved dramatically this season. He will help us soon. And, last but not least, we used our remaining second-round pick to take Henk Norel, a teammate of Ricky's in Spain, who is long and athletic. Norel has one year remaining on his contract.

What excites me most about this team is the following:

Al Jefferson, at 24, is the oldest player of our four future building blocks.

Kevin Love is 20. Jonny Flynn is 20. Ricky is 18. Wayne Ellington is 21. And let's not forget Corey Brewer is 23, Ryan Gomes is 26 and Sebastian Telfair just turned 24.

We will need a special coach who understands that we are very much in the development stage and need to be shaped and molded. I have already talked to Al Jefferson and Kevin Love about the qualities they would like to see in their new coach — what kind of person we should be seeking — and will also consult with our new players. Players respect structure and discipline. They want to know where they stand. And they want to know the coach has their back. I am eager to hear from Ricky, Jonny, Wayne and some of our existing players as we prepare our list.

These are fun times, I hope, to be a Timberwolves fan as we continue on this journey. There will be bumps and bruises along the way, but I believe we are pointed in the right direction.

As always, thank you for your interest and passion. It makes our jobs easier. David Kahn

Open letter from Minnesota Timberwolves' David Kahn: Two point guards 'can and will work'

<!--subtitle--><!--byline-->Pioneer Press

<!--date-->Updated: 06/26/2009 02:20:06 PM CDT

EDITOR'S NOTE: Minnesota Timberwolves president of basketball operations David Kahn has written an open letter to Wolves fans, explaining their draft-day decisions of Thursday night.

Dear Timberwolves Fans and Supporters:

It's been five weeks since I arrived in Minneapolis and I hope you can feel what I feel: change.

I especially want to talk about last night's draft and explain why we made the decisions we did.

First, from a philosophical standpoint, I believe that teams should select players in the top 10 of the NBA Draft who have the chance — and I underline the word chance — to be special later in their careers. You do not use the fifth and sixth picks to select rotation players, but only players that figure to be starters, if not out-and-out stars.

So, we were committed to taking two players who fit that description, and we were less concerned about the positions they played, assuming they were not power forwards.

There were several two-person options we would have been comfortable with at those selections.

It wasn't until late Thursday afternoon that I thought there was a chance Ricky Rubio might be available for us at No. 5. I had actually been told by somebody who I deeply respect in the NBA that Ricky would be selected third by Oklahoma City. But we were prepared for all options nonetheless.
Ricky has one of the most tenacious, most capable agents in our sport, Dan Fegan. He cares deeply about his clients. I explained to Dan late afternoon that we were singularly motivated to build an NBA championship-contending team in Minnesota — that it might take a few years, of course — but that nobody here cared about anything other than competing for an NBA title.
That we have only one life to live, and that we must spend our lives trying, as Pat Riley once taught me, to leave footprints.

I purposely selected Ricky with the fifth pick, not the sixth, to help with his buyout situation. Ricky and his family have taken a very bold step to enter the NBA despite having two years remaining on his contract with his Spanish team. I know that they would have preferred that we try to move to the second or third pick to take him, and I respect their wishes, but my belief was that we need during these next 15 months to acquire multiple pieces to make this a championship-contending team over the next three-to-four years. The price for moving to No. 2 or 3 was far too steep.

Ricky is a proven professional who played against the USA in the Gold Medal game in the Beijing Olympics. He is a virtuoso, a rare player who may well be unique. I have long believed that he has the chance to become one of basketball's brightest stars. You've seen the highlights — he is like an orchestra conductor with the basketball.

He will be our starting point guard here the moment he walks through our front door. We may have to wait a year, or even two, but he is worth the wait.

We must be patient. This is a big step for he and his family.

With the sixth pick, we selected Jonny Flynn. I truly believe that Jonny is as much a scorer as a playmaker and will thrive playing off of Ricky. I also believe that, together, we will have one of the most dynamic defensive backcourts in the NBA over time. You will love Jonny Flynn. He, too, will be special.

And I also believe that there is a tendency in the NBA for all of us (myself included) to become too formulaic in our thinking. If you think of the Detroit Pistons backcourt during their championship run, with Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars and Vinnie Johnson, or the Celtics with their backcourt of Danny Ainge and Dennis Johnson (and before Ainge there was Gerald Henderson), or the Lakers with Jerry West and Gail Goodrich, or the Knicks with Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe, there are many instances of championship success that is not so paint-by-the-numbers.

It can and will work.

At the 18th pick, we did not believe we could identify a player who would be worthy of that rookie scale slot and become part of our core nucleus, so in an attempt to further stockpile assets, we traded it for a future first-round pick with only modest lottery protection. This will prove to be valuable. We also traded one of our two second-round picks for a 2010 second-round pick.

Finally, we selected Wayne Ellington with the 28th pick, one of the stars off the North Carolina National Championship team. Wayne is a 6-foot-5 shooter who has improved dramatically this season. He will help us soon. And, last but not least, we used our remaining second-round pick to take Henk Norel, a teammate of Ricky's in Spain, who is long and athletic. Norel has one year remaining on his contract.

What excites me most about this team is the following:

Al Jefferson, at 24, is the oldest player of our four future building blocks.

Kevin Love is 20. Jonny Flynn is 20. Ricky is 18. Wayne Ellington is 21. And let's not forget Corey Brewer is 23, Ryan Gomes is 26 and Sebastian Telfair just turned 24.

We will need a special coach who understands that we are very much in the development stage and need to be shaped and molded. I have already talked to Al Jefferson and Kevin Love about the qualities they would like to see in their new coach — what kind of person we should be seeking — and will also consult with our new players. Players respect structure and discipline. They want to know where they stand. And they want to know the coach has their back. I am eager to hear from Ricky, Jonny, Wayne and some of our existing players as we prepare our list.

These are fun times, I hope, to be a Timberwolves fan as we continue on this journey. There will be bumps and bruises along the way, but I believe we are pointed in the right direction.

As always, thank you for your interest and passion. It makes our jobs easier. David Kahn

He is an idiot or full of ****...

Basically he made the trade for the 5th pick having no idea Rubio would be available and drafted him without a plan once he saw Rubio was still on the board. I don't fault him for that, I would do the same. The problem is drafting Flynn at 6...which was their plan all along. They did not adapt and take a complimentary player like Curry.

I am convinced Kahn is a moron...you are building a team around a young dominant post up center(AJ) and you trade your two best shooters for two pointgurds not known for their jumpshot or half court sets. I hope I am wrong and this is leverage to trade Rubio for someone on the Knicks but I don't think Kahn is that smart.

LOL at: we will have one of the most dynamic defensive backcourts in the NBA over time.

Reading that makes me wanna pimp slap Kahn.....and any1 else sickened that it seems true we coulda had the 5 for chandler/hughes...i mean, chandler....and hughes.....? Even if they didn't "know" Rubio woulda been there, the distinct possibility was there, along with a host of other relatively worthy players.....can't believe the trigger wasn't pulled if so...

I think I'll have to disagree. He did exactly the right thing: Drafting according to talent. If you have the most talented players (or most hyped at that) you'll get a chance to trade them for quality veterans or picks in a deeper draft (aka next year). If not they have the talent to adapt and do what you ask them to do. And I can actually see Flynn playing off the ball. They are rebuilding and things can't get worse.

Reading that makes me wanna pimp slap Kahn.....and any1 else sickened that it seems true we coulda had the 5 for chandler/hughes...i mean, chandler....and hughes.....? Even if they didn't "know" Rubio woulda been there, the distinct possibility was there, along with a host of other relatively worthy players.....can't believe the trigger wasn't pulled if so...

Reading that makes me wanna pimp slap Kahn.....and any1 else sickened that it seems true we coulda had the 5 for chandler/hughes...i mean, chandler....and hughes.....? Even if they didn't "know" Rubio woulda been there, the distinct possibility was there, along with a host of other relatively worthy players.....can't believe the trigger wasn't pulled if so...

I think the deal with WAS involved Chandler-Hughes and taking back Songalia's contract (which would be on the books 2010-2011). That was too much....

I sort of think MIN made the deal b/c they wanted to trade with NYK.

Kahn & Walsh are pals.... This might be his way to bluff us... make us give up more for Rubio. I mean, MIN had the 6th pick... who did they covet... so much they made those deals? Unless, they really wanted Flynn, wanted to get rid of Foye-Miller... clear some money.... cap space.... for a compliment to Jefferson- DAVID LEE.

I imagine this is just noise, that he seeks David Lee plus something; maybe Lee & Chandler, or Lee and Nate? Not sure how that woud work, if they have "bad" contracts we would have to take back.

SO, while I'm not positive he's looking to deal Rubio.... I'm sure this is all acting.... so if he wants to deal him he'll get the best deal he can.

My prediction: Rickey Rubio will be in a Knicks uniform by the end of next week. I'll say it again, by July 3rd Rubio will be a Knick.

Dude's dad is real smart. So his dad tells a Spanish news paper that his son will be back in Spain. Then Kevin love twitters the same thing. All of this puts Kahn in a precarious position. He can lose Rubio for nothing or ask him where he wants to go and make a deal. Lee and the Toney Douglas will be traded for Rubio. Good for us, good for Minnesota.

I think the deal with WAS involved Chandler-Hughes and taking back Songalia's contract (which would be on the books 2010-2011). That was too much....

I sort of think MIN made the deal b/c they wanted to trade with NYK.

Kahn & Walsh are pals.... This might be his way to bluff us... make us give up more for Rubio. I mean, MIN had the 6th pick... who did they covet... so much they made those deals? Unless, they really wanted Flynn, wanted to get rid of Foye-Miller... clear some money.... cap space.... for a compliment to Jefferson- DAVID LEE.

I imagine this is just noise, that he seeks David Lee plus something; maybe Lee & Chandler, or Lee and Nate? Not sure how that woud work, if they have "bad" contracts we would have to take back.

SO, while I'm not positive he's looking to deal Rubio.... I'm sure this is all acting.... so if he wants to deal him he'll get the best deal he can.

My prediction: Rickey Rubio will be in a Knicks uniform by the end of next week. I'll say it again, by July 3rd Rubio will be a Knick.

Dude's dad is real smart. So his dad tells a Spanish news paper that his son will be back in Spain. Then Kevin love twitters the same thing. All of this puts Kahn in a precarious position. He can lose Rubio for nothing or ask him where he wants to go and make a deal. Lee and the Toney Douglas will be traded for Rubio. Good for us, good for Minnesota.